wexler. the police executive research forum. welcome, dr. wexler. >> thank you ms. robinson, and mr. ramsey and the panel. it's good to be here, again. and i also want to thank my fellow panel members for participating. thank you for the opportunity to offer my perspectives on the important issues of labor management issues. i am the executive director of the police executive research forum. i have held that position for over 20 years. you've asked me to focus my testimony today on building trust and collaboration between police executives labor leaders and elected officials. when we talk about improving policing, the relationship between labor and management is an area that has been neglected for too long. historically labor and management have often viewed each other with suspicion. it often has seemed that they see each other as warring factions and treat each other as the enemy. and as recent events have shown us, everyone loses when labor and management fail to work together. especially

wexler. it sounds a lot like what officer smith is talking about when he says take a leap of faith or do the right thing for the right reason. what he's really talking -- i think he's a little -- i think what he's really talking about is adaptive leadership. and leadership. and so what is perp doing to accentuate leadership models like officer smith on the side of management? >> probably not enough, but i think -- i think it is leadership. you know, probably the biggest challenge -- i want to pick up your question but what jim pasco's comment was, how do you change the dynamic here? i think the best way to change it is with examples. when people see the benefit. officers don't get laid off in sacramento when labor and management work together. in camden they work together and they get an agreement and contract. when officers and management work together in prince georges county, lives get saved. when the fop and napo agree to the mandatory wearing of seat belts, lives will be saved because pe

we have had the opportunity over the last several months to work with doctor wexler around this issue. community policing and the foundation of everything that we do in the county. because of community policing in the last four years we have been able to reduce homicides by re-% in four years. from my perspective, community policing is about relationships and trust and equity. also internally with our officers. the simple wiki concept and how we are treated internally affects our community. if there is not trust with our agency, how do we build trust in the community. we must treat the officers the way we would want them to treat our community. and community policing begins internally and that is why this is critical, in my opinion. there was a time not too long ago that the police chief and the president would not have spoken or done in the same room together. the last two i have known personally so there has been a relationship there to begin with. but the initial conversation is that our jobs are different but very much the same, to take care of the men and women in the community a

the question is what would be the impact of having jordanian troops on the ground wexler with the united states role be in getting back to the site you had a little while ago what our role serving aside those troops in something less than an enduring or could our role be described as anything less than an enduring an offensive role? >> i think again i didn't draft the thing that the draft is probably want to blinken during an offensive because we have an enduring presence in middle east. we have had combat troops in kuwait for over a decade since i was there in the mid-90s so it isn't the question of enduring. it gets too could we use to returning troops? absolute that there are lots of political problems and frankly we have never seen arab troops on the offensive in any of our earlier wars not in iraq and with a few exceptions not in afghanistan and in kuwait. there are huge taboos about that in the arab world. some of them might be broken for some countries. >> do you think they have been? do you think in light of recent events we wouldn't face those same political barriers? >> if i we

i would like to endorse testimony later today by chuck wexler. with respect to the importance of open communication and mutual respect between labor and management. ongoing dialogue with the shared public safety goal is a must. even if in absence of collective bargaining, that said dialogue between the rank-and-file should compliment, not supplant the collective bargaining process. in closing i would like to thank you for allowing to us be here today. we are very encouraged about the response that this committee has received from the law enforcement community and we look forward to working with this group to enhance public safety and public service in the law enforcement community. thank you a lot. >> thank you very much for your testimony. next we'll hear from william j. johnson, executive director, national association of police organizations. napol. >> thank you, commissioner ramsey professor robinson, members of task force. i appreciate the opportunity to provide information on the topic of officer safety and wellness. i will focus my remarks